Atala, the Kingdom of Bala
Maya Dānava has a very talented son called Bala, who creates the conditions for the enjoyment of the demons living in Atala, the first of the seven lower planetary systems.
« Making Sense of the Vedic Universe, a Higher-Dimensional Reality
Atala, the Kingdom of Bala
Being these lower planetary systems composed of many planets, they must surely contain all sorts of varied manifestations. However, the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam describes only a few prominent details. As in other passages, the main focus is not to give an academic presentation, but to elevate our consciousness, helping us to understand the shortcomings of this materialistic lifestyle.
“My dear King, now I shall describe to you the lower planetary systems, one by one, beginning from Atala. In Atala there is a demon, the son of Maya Dānava named Bala, who created ninety-six kinds of mystic power. Some so-called yogīs and svāmīs take advantage of this mystic power to cheat people even today. Simply by yawning, the demon Bala created three kinds of women, known as svairiṇī, kāmiṇī and puṁścalī. The svairiṇīs like to marry men from their own group, the kāmiṇīs marry men from any group, and the puṁścalīs change husbands one after another. If a man enters the planet of Atala, these women immediately capture him and induce him to drink an intoxicating beverage made with a drug known as hāṭaka [cannabis indica]. This intoxicant endows the man with great sexual prowess, of which the women take advantage for enjoyment. A woman will enchant him with attractive glances, intimate words, smiles of love and then embraces. In this way she induces him to enjoy sex with her to her full satisfaction. Because of his increased sexual power, the man thinks himself stronger than ten thousand elephants and considers himself most perfect. Indeed, illusioned and intoxicated by false pride, he thinks himself God, ignoring impending death.” (SB 5.24.16)
Maya Dānava has a very talented son called Bala, who creates the conditions for the enjoyment of the demons living in Atala, the first of the seven lower planetary systems.
Material enjoyment is based on two fundamental principles: control over matter and other people, and sexual life. To facilitate the first, Bala created ninety-six types of mystic illusory arts that are used by the inhabitants of Atala. Prabhupāda adds that these mystical powers are also used by yogīs and svāmīs to cheat their followers even on our planet, by producing gold and performing other magical feats.
Next, to facilitate their sexual enjoyment, he created three types of women that are easily accessible. Sexual enjoyment is the greatest allurement of material existence. The thrill of getting new partners one after the other keeps us completely absorbed in material existence, life after life. Another problem with sexual life, when practiced without a higher purpose, is that it is exploitative. The idea is to obtain something, to get enjoyment and other desirable things from the partner, and not to serve. The idea is to take instead of giving. To regulate it and control its negative aspects, the scriptures prescribe fidelity, chastity, modesty, and other qualities and duties. The basic idea is that one should get a single partner for life and dedicate oneself to this relationship, instead of jumping here and there. Inside this framework, we then try to develop spiritual principles, such as cooperating in spiritual practice, bringing Kṛṣṇa to the center, etc.
Responsible and religious men and chaste women are the basic foundation of this progressive lifestyle; therefore, this is something demons want to demolish to establish their hedonistic lifestyle. We can see this at play in the creation of Bala. He created three types of seductive and manipulative women who keep men under their control, away from the goal of life. Using these women, he makes sure that the men in his dominions remain under illusion, far from the path of self-realization. The men think they are enjoying themselves, but in reality they are just being used, their lusty desires turned against them, transformed into instruments for control.
This same dynamic can also be found in this planet, appearing whenever societies abandon the idea of pious marriages and go instead in the direction of hedonism. When this happens, this pattern of exploitation, sometimes on the part of the men, and sometimes on the part of the women, becomes prominent. The final result is that people become intoxicated by false pride and lose track of the goal of life.
Vitala, the Land of Unlimited Gold
“The next planet below Atala is Vitala, wherein Lord Śiva, who is known as the master of gold mines, lives with his personal associates, the ghosts and similar living entities. Lord Śiva, as the progenitor, engages in sex with Bhavānī, the progenitress, to produce living entities, and from the mixture of their vital fluid the river named Hāṭakī is generated. When fire, being made to blaze by the wind, drinks of this river and then sizzles and spits it out, it produces gold called Hāṭaka. The demons who live on that planet with their wives decorate themselves with various ornaments made from that gold, and thus they live there very happily.” (SB 5.24.17)
Lord Śiva appears to be simultaneously present in several places in creation, associating with different sets of associates and performing different activities. Previously, it was mentioned that he lives in Ilāvṛta-varṣa, where he meditates on the Supreme Lord and has philosophical discussions with great devotees such as Nārada Muni and the four Kumāras. In that celestial abode, Bhavānī serves him with her billions of lady associates.
Now it is mentioned that Lord Śiva simultaneously lives in Vitala, where he gives association to ghosts and other lower entities, thus creating a path for their deliverance. In this manifestation, Lord Śiva performs his duty of engaging in sex life with his consort to increase the population of living entities. This produces a river that is used by the inhabitants of this planetary system to produce huge quantities of a type of gold.
Therefore, the two characteristics of Vitala mentioned in the description are the association of Lord Śiva as Bhūtanātha, the Lord of the spirits, and the presence of great material opulence, fruit of the almost unlimited quantity of gold available there.
In his purport, Prabhupāda connects this with another process of transformation: initiation. Just as the inhabitants of Vitala can produce unlimited quantities of gold, a pure devotee can produce Vaiṣnavas out of common men by initiating them on the spiritual path and engaging them in devotional service. As he mentions:
“As one can transform kaṁsa, or bell metal, into gold by treating it with mercury, one can also turn a lowborn man into a brāhmaṇa by initiating him properly into Vaiṣṇava activities.” The International Society for Krishna Consciousness is trying to turn mlecchas and yavanas into real brāhmaṇas by properly initiating them and stopping them from engaging in meat-eating, intoxication, illicit sex and gambling. One who stops these four principles of sinful activity and chants the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra can certainly become a pure brāhmaṇa through the process of bona fide initiation, as suggested by Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī.”
Compared with the miracle of transforming a mleccha into a brāhmana, producing gold sounds trivial.
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